Wrestling club presents check to start grappling season

Juneau Youth Wrestling Club president Josh Houston, left, presents a check to Juneau-Douglas High School and Floyd Dryden Middle School wrestling coach Kris Mercer as part of the JYWC's commitment to improving local wrestling programs.

Juneau Youth Wrestling Club President, Josh Houston, presented Juneau-Douglas High School and Floyd Dryden Middle School wrestling coach Kris Mercer with two $500 checks last week, one for each of the programs.

The Juneau Youth Wrestling Club (JYWC) is a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting amateur wrestling throughout the city of Juneau.

“Besides focusing on improving our own club member’s abilities, we also look at what we can do to help improve the school programs” Houston said. “We are very concerned about the future of the wrestling programs at the school level. This is why we donate money to their programs, talk to our members about joining the school teams and encourage non-members to join our club to continue working on their wrestling skills.”

Mercer is quite happy to have the help.

“The money we received from JYWC today will go towards purchasing warm up clothes and traveling gear for JDHS and help supplement travel expenses to the state tournament for the Floyd Dryden program,” Mercer stated in an email.

The JYWC provides wrestlers with the outlet to continue honing their skills. Numerous Floyd Dryden, JDHS and Thunder Mountain High School wrestlers are also JYWC wrestlers.

Said Mercer, “JYWC has been an awesome partner to the school programs. The skills and experience a JYWC kid brings to our program is an added bonus for our team”. Once the school leagues are over, many of the wrestlers will join JYWC.

When the high school season ends with the Region V tournament in Juneau on January 26 (10 a.m.) and the state championships in Anchorage on February 1-2, wrestlers will continue to improve their skills and participate in meets throughout the state in preparation for the Alaska Folkstyle, Freestyle, and Greco-Roman State Championships finals held in Wasilla in May.

“Our club helps to teach the basics to the beginners and perfect the skills of a more seasoned wrestler” Houston added.

The JYWC is available for beginners (kindergarten through 2nd grades), intermediate and novice groups (3rd -5th grade), middle school and high school. The club finishes their season at the state finals.

The JYWC wrestling season begins January 7. A club orientation, including registration and other paperwork, will be held on Friday, Jan. 4 at the Nugget Mall from 5:30-7:30 p.m. More information is on the club website at juneauwrestling.net.

The first junior high meet is Jan. 17th at DZ between the host Wolverines and the FD Eagles at 3:30 p.m., and there will be meets every Thursday of this month. Jan. 24 - Dual Meet, DZ at FD 3:30 / Jan. 31 - Dual Meet, FD at DZ 3:30 / Feb. 8-9 - Coach Harben Invitational Tourney at FD / Feb. 13 - Dual Meet at FD 3:30 / Feb. 22-23 - Southeast Invitational Tournament at Ketchikan / Mar. 1-2 - State MS Tourney at Fairbanks’ Tannana Middle School. Regionals for the high school will be at 10am on Jan. 26th at JDHS.

“We would love to see some community support for our programs,” Mercer said. “It would be nice to have wrestling fans cheering on these hard working young athletes.”